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Deep tank flow and circulation.

DannyJ1981

Seedling
Joined
2 Feb 2017
Messages
4
Location
Essex
Hi guys firstly sorry about the drawing but quick sketches .

right I have a four foot by 2.5ft deep tank .

I have drawn two options for the plumbing setup but I’m unsure which one would give me the best flow rates or if there would be much difference at all .

Option A runs one pump with two bypasses for the co2 and heat .

Option B runs two identical pumps but uses one intake and one spray bar I’m assuming that matching the pumps and same length piping would give me double the output from spray bar ( more holes than option A ) thus overall greater circulation in the tank and check valves would stop any back flow if there was mismatched flow rates.

Both option will use hard PVC pipe with homemade full length spray bars stacked on top of each other .

any comments would be greatly appreaciated

thanks

dan
 

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Hi

Option 2 is a no go IMO as if one pump fails the water will circulated without entering the tank, yes you have put check valves which will prevent this but you also have no filtration on the line so it will soon get detritus build up and may not work, plus check values reduce the water output. I have done it in a very similar way to option 1 on my 500l tank 'Olympus is Calling' and lived with it for 2 years and it was a PITA on maintenance day. After two years I purchased a Maxspect Gyres x2 and my life became much easier on maintenance day and the gyres are dead easy to clean and give great flow which is adjustable via a 24 slot schedule. Yes the Gyres are not cheap but the cost of the PVC pipe soon adds up and it does get detritus built up internally took me about 6hrs to clean my independent line so it didnt happen often.
Another plus of the Gyres is there is no need for a spraybar and you can use the standard output from the FX6 all my CO2 reactors and heating takes place post FX6 and havent clean them in over a year - last time I checked them they was fine.

upload_2017-12-16_17-50-27-png.png


If I was doing my tank again I wouldnt use an FX6 if I was using the Gyres as IMO there isnt a need and a smaller filter would do the job which uses smaller pipework which is easier to use, cheaper, more choices of inputs outputs. After all in a planted tank its the plants that take care of most of the biological filtration as the surface area the roots have is massive. Going for a filter which has an easy to clean prefilter is a big plus too and built in heater - quicker to clean and less pipework.

Hope it helps M8 and looking forward to your Journal ;)

Zeus
 
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